The Immigration Post123https://www.theimmigrationpost.com
Reporting Exclusively on U.S. Immigration News, Laws and Policies.Thu, 04 Jun 2020 11:44:14 +0000en
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.4.1American Oppressionhttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/american-oppression/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=american-oppression
Thu, 04 Jun 2020 11:44:14 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38426The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people. – Martin Luther King Jr. We, at The Immigration Post, refuse to remain silent to the systematic racist oppression of people of African descent throughout the United States. Although our discussions with you throughout the years have always focused on the immigrant experience, we cannot ignore the direct correlation between the oppression of native African-American minority populations in the United States and the oppression of immigrants coming to our shores. The 1857 Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott…

]]>The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people. – Martin Luther King Jr.

We, at The Immigration Post, refuse to remain silent to the systematic racist oppression of people of African descent throughout the United States. Although our discussions with you throughout the years have always focused on the immigrant experience, we cannot ignore the direct correlation between the oppression of native African-American minority populations in the United States and the oppression of immigrants coming to our shores.

By every measure, wealth, income, education, or cultural, African –Americans struggle against institutional systems that deprive them of fundamental human rights. Whereas our constitution declares that “[…] All men are created equal[…],” former Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall remarked in 1992, “I wish I could say that racism and prejudice were only distant memories, but as I look around I see that even educated whites and African-Americans […] have lost hope in equality[…].” Almost thirty years later, we still struggle to see that hope.

While authorities are snuffing out and discarding black lives on the streets of America, from the White House, our leaders find time to craft policy to further discriminate against student immigrants based on national origin. There appears to be a concerted agenda by our current administration to oppress marginalized populations within this country both through civil authority and through initiating and promoting discriminatory policy. This is not acceptable and must change. Except for fueling hatred and inequality, there is no logical reason for this approach. Our nation continues to suffer the loss of life due to COVID-19 and, with a 40% reduction in immigration and a low birth rate, we are now looking at a future with diminished growth. The future this current administration is crafting for our country is not the future we want.

We offer our deepest condolences to the families of those slain. We will not be silent. You must not be silent. Vote against the systematic oppression of African-Americans this November. Vote “yes” for immigration reform. Make your voice heard. Vote.

]]>Latino immigrant advocates bring crucial support to families during COVID-19 pandemichttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/latino-immigrant-advocates-bring-crucial-support-to-families-during-covid-19-pandemic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=latino-immigrant-advocates-bring-crucial-support-to-families-during-covid-19-pandemic
Thu, 04 Jun 2020 11:18:50 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38423In normal times, Diana Moreno helped immigrant workers secure work and get paid. Moreno and the New York City nonprofit New Immigrant Community Empowerment, or NICE, whose Workers Rights Program she directs, advocate on behalf of jornaleros, Latino immigrant day laborers who work for contractors. The center acts as a liaison between workers and employers, ensuring that contractors don’t withhold wages and that laborers are paid adequately and are organized according to experience. But that was before COVID-19 upended life in the heavily immigrant neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, where NICE is based. Now, with no jobs to be had,…

Moreno and the New York City nonprofit New Immigrant Community Empowerment, or NICE, whose Workers Rights Program she directs, advocate on behalf of jornaleros, Latino immigrant day laborers who work for contractors. The center acts as a liaison between workers and employers, ensuring that contractors don’t withhold wages and that laborers are paid adequately and are organized according to experience.

But that was before COVID-19 upended life in the heavily immigrant neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens, where NICE is based. Now, with no jobs to be had, Moreno’s focus has shifted: She’s simply helping immigrant families get access to food.

“The first wave was joblessness and unemployment,” Moreno said. “And these are people who cannot afford not to go to work.”

Across the country, advocates like Moreno are working to provide basic necessities to immigrant families, especially those without legal status who lack a safety net and are too worried or threatened to seek medical treatment or help.

Mobilizing relief efforts

In New York, NICE is one of many groups pivoting from their regular missions. Its “relief brigade” brings groceries to families in the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst, which have some of the highest numbers of COVID-19 casualties in the city.

“Despite them being part of a high-need population, they are still giving their time and effort to food distribution efforts,” Moreno said of the neighborhood members helping deliver the much-needed items.

Moreno, 32, who has been working in New York for the past year after moving there from Gainesville, Florida, said “layer upon layer” of issues have made the pandemic an existential threat in the neighborhoods she serves.

One issue is the high price of medical care, especially for immigrants who don’t have access to insurance.

]]>Immigration changes necessary for pandemichttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/immigration-changes-necessary-for-pandemic/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=immigration-changes-necessary-for-pandemic
Tue, 02 Jun 2020 13:25:07 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38418In a recent survey, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) estimated that 30% of physicians and 17% of registered nurses in the United States were born outside of the country. immigration-mainAbout 23% of home health providers and nursing aides are immigrants, as are 20% of pharmacists. Never has our reliance on foreign health care workers been as apparent as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in the U.S., hailing from all parts of the globe, have served on the front lines fighting the pandemic, caring for patients, and tirelessly pursuing effective treatments, while putting…

]]>In a recent survey, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) estimated that 30% of physicians and 17% of registered nurses in the United States were born outside of the country. immigration-mainAbout 23% of home health providers and nursing aides are immigrants, as are 20% of pharmacists.

Never has our reliance on foreign health care workers been as apparent as during the COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals in the U.S., hailing from all parts of the globe, have served on the front lines fighting the pandemic, caring for patients, and tirelessly pursuing effective treatments, while putting their personal safety at risk.

While they serve our communities, many foreign-born physicians and nurses face lengthy delays in obtaining lawful permanent resident status (green cards) — sometimes waiting more than 10 years. Green cards are numerically limited, and there are many more applicants than there are available green cards, resulting in significant backlogs. Healthcare workers born in India, China and the Philippines have the longest wait times, as those countries are the birthplace of a majority of U.S. green card applicants.

While they wait for their turn in the green card “line,” healthcare workers remain in non-immigrant visa status (e.g., H-1B), which poses significant limitations on employment. For example, a foreign physician working in an area with few COVID-19 cases cannot simply travel to another state to lend assistance where she is needed. She cannot take a shift at another hospital in the same area where she works. She cannot work full-time hours to help with the pandemic, if the non-immigrant visa filing indicated she would be part-time. Each of these seemingly minor changes in employment require a filing with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, a tedious and expensive undertaking that delays healthcare professionals from working where they are critically needed. When an individual holds a green card, she has flexibility in the work location, position, hours worked and employer, allowing healthcare professionals to answer the call to serve where needed, unimpeded.

]]>US Citizenship and Immigration Services staff face furloughhttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-staff-face-furlough/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-staff-face-furlough
Tue, 02 Jun 2020 13:21:31 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38415We are still waiting to hear if there will be a temporary non-immigrant worker visa ban for certain US visa categories. The current coronavirus COVID-19 situation may be used as an excuse for what in reality, if it happens, will be some sort of partial work visa suspension. If there is a visa suspension presumably this will affect both funding for USCIS and the amount of work that needs to be done by USCIS workers. Perhaps a partial work visa ban will also lead to USCIS workers being furloughed. We do not know what will happen in reality. However, this…

]]>We are still waiting to hear if there will be a temporary non-immigrant worker visa ban for certain US visa categories. The current coronavirus COVID-19 situation may be used as an excuse for what in reality, if it happens, will be some sort of partial work visa suspension.

If there is a visa suspension presumably this will affect both funding for USCIS and the amount of work that needs to be done by USCIS workers. Perhaps a partial work visa ban will also lead to USCIS workers being furloughed. We do not know what will happen in reality. However, this is what is apparently being considered:

* All new H1B visa specialty occupation worker applications would be banned unless the worker will be paid at the highest wage level (Level 4), as designated by the DOL. Apparently professions, in business, finance, research, and the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields may be affected. Presumably due to the coronavirus COVID-19 situation health care workers working in this area will not be included in the ban.

* All new L1 visa intracompany transferees, which is for transfers from the overseas office to the US office could be banned. This could affect international executives, managers, or employees with advanced or specialized knowledge. This is a very useful visa category, as unlike the H1B visa category there is no quota.

* All new H2B visa temporary non-agricultural workers unless the work is essential to maintenance of the US food supply chain. There are many jobs where it is difficult to find US citizens and Green Card holders to do the work. This will cause serious problems in many industries.

In addition to this consideration is being given to restricting OPT Optional Practical Training for F1 student visa holders in the US and for H4 visa spouses. It remains to be seen what will happen. Trump’s last “immigration ban” of 22 April 2020 was not as far reaching as many expected.

Thousands of staff working for United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) face being furloughed by the end of July, unless Congress intervenes with emergency funds. Workpermit.com recently reported that the government agency is on the brink of collapse and sought a $1.2 billion cash injection from Congress to stay afloat.

USCIS relies heavily on US visa and citizenship application fees to carry out its day-to-day operations. However, a slump in applications has left the agency cash-strapped and in need of a government bailout.

USCIS deputy director for policy, Joseph Edlow, said: “Without intervention from Congress, USCIS will be forced to start furloughing staff from July 20.”

By Daniel Waldron and Sanwar Ali for WORKPERMIT.COM
Read Full Article HERE

]]>USCIS Preparing to Resume Public Services on June 4https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/uscis-preparing-to-resume-public-services-on-june-4/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=uscis-preparing-to-resume-public-services-on-june-4
Fri, 29 May 2020 13:11:31 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38412U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is preparing some domestic offices to reopen and resume non-emergency public services on or after June 4. On March 18, USCIS temporarily suspended routine in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines to protect our workforce and the public. For the latest information on the status of individual offices, check our office closures page. While certain offices are temporarily closed, USCIS continues to provide limited emergency in-person services. Please call the…

]]>U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is preparing some domestic offices to reopen and resume non-emergency public services on or after June 4. On March 18, USCIS temporarily suspended routine in-person services at its field offices, asylum offices and application support centers (ASCs) to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). USCIS is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines to protect our workforce and the public. For the latest information on the status of individual offices, check our office closures page.

As services begin to reopen, offices will reduce the number of appointments and interviews to ensure social distancing, allow time for cleaning and reduce waiting room occupancy. Appointment notices will contain information on safety precautions that visitors to USCIS facilities must follow.

If you are feeling sick, please do not go to your appointment. Follow the instructions on your appointment notice to reschedule your appointment for when you are healthy. There is no penalty for rescheduling your appointment if you are sick.

Asylum Offices

USCIS asylum offices will automatically reschedule asylum interviews that were cancelled during the temporary closures. When USCIS reschedules the interview, asylum applicants will receive a new interview notice with the new time, date and location for the interview and information about safety precautions.

In accordance with social distancing guidelines, and due to the length of asylum interviews, asylum offices expect to conduct video-facilitated asylum interviews, where the applicants sit in one room and the interviewing officer sits in another room. Asylum offices will use available technology, including mobile devices provided by the agency, to ensure that the officer, applicant, interpreter and representative can fully and safely participate in the interview while maintaining social distancing.

For affirmative asylum interviews, applicants must bring all immediate family members listed as dependents on the application and an interpreter, if the applicant does not speak English. Additionally, a representative, witness, individual providing disability accommodations or “trusted adult” if an applicant is a minor, may attend the interview.

For non-detained credible or reasonable fear interviews, individuals must bring any family members listed on the interview notice. Representatives may attend credible and reasonable fear interviews but are encouraged to participate telephonically. USCIS will provide contracted, professional interpreters for credible and reasonable fear interviews.

]]>Lawsuit says Trump admin’s COVID-19 immigration order separates families with older kidshttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/lawsuit-says-trump-admins-covid-19-immigration-order-separates-families-with-older-kids/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lawsuit-says-trump-admins-covid-19-immigration-order-separates-families-with-older-kids
Fri, 29 May 2020 13:04:11 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38409WASHINGTON — A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday alleges that the Trump administration’s ban on legal immigration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic unfairly separates parent from children who are on the cusp of turning 21 years old. One such parent named in the lawsuit, a Mexican woman filing under the name Mirna S., lives lawfully in the Bronx, New York, under a visa granted in exchange for her cooperation with U.S. law enforcement against her abusive ex-partner. She was due to bring her 20-year-old daughter safely to the U.S. in the coming months on an approved visa,…

]]>WASHINGTON — A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court Thursday alleges that the Trump administration’s ban on legal immigration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic unfairly separates parent from children who are on the cusp of turning 21 years old.

One such parent named in the lawsuit, a Mexican woman filing under the name Mirna S., lives lawfully in the Bronx, New York, under a visa granted in exchange for her cooperation with U.S. law enforcement against her abusive ex-partner. She was due to bring her 20-year-old daughter safely to the U.S. in the coming months on an approved visa, but she will now be unable to do so because her daughter will turn 21 in June.

President Donald Trump’s proclamation April 22 significantly curtailed legal immigration into the U.S., including limiting entry for immigrants’ children who are 21 and older. Advocates say they do not know how many people that provision may affect, but the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute estimates that the proclamation as a whole will affect more than 50,000 over 60 days.

Those children are now put into a new non-prioritized category, where wait times for visas can take up to 76 years, the lawsuit alleges.

Although Mirna S.’s attorney made multiple requests to expedite her daughter’s visa application, the lawsuit alleges, the administration’s order was issued so quickly that “it was virtually impossible for any visa petitioner with a sponsored child … to seek emergency consular services before it took effect.”

“For the United States citizens and lawful permanent residents sponsoring children and derivative child relatives who will turn 21 during the Proclamation’s effective period, the Proclamation will result in a lifetime of family separation,” lawyers for the plaintiffs said in the filing.

Although the executive order was issued for 60 days, the administration can extend or expand it and has plans to do so, according to a current and former administration officials

]]>U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide the fate of 650,000 ‘Dreamers.’ Here’s what could happenhttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/u-s-supreme-court-will-soon-decide-the-fate-of-650000-dreamers-heres-what-could-happen/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=u-s-supreme-court-will-soon-decide-the-fate-of-650000-dreamers-heres-what-could-happen
Thu, 28 May 2020 13:19:09 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38406Nearly 650,000 undocumented “Dreamers” are awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court that will determine whether they will be allowed to continue to receive temporary protection from deportation and work permits under an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that President Donald Trump wants to end. The Supreme Court’s decision on DACA is expected to be announced by the end of June but could come any day. Trump tried to end the DACA program in September 2017, saying that the program was an overreach of former President Barack Obama’s executive authority. But Trump’s effort to rescind the program…

]]>Nearly 650,000 undocumented “Dreamers” are awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court that will determine whether they will be allowed to continue to receive temporary protection from deportation and work permits under an Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals that President Donald Trump wants to end.

The Supreme Court’s decision on DACA is expected to be announced by the end of June but could come any day.

Trump tried to end the DACA program in September 2017, saying that the program was an overreach of former President Barack Obama’s executive authority.

But Trump’s effort to rescind the program was stymied by a flurry of lawsuits by DACA advocates who argue the program is legal and that the Trump administration improperly tried to end it without adequate consideration of the disruptions it would create in the lives of DACA recipients and others.

When will the Supreme Court announce a decision?

It’s impossible to predict exactly when the Supreme Court will announce its decision on the DACA program. Analysts and court-watchers speculate that the ruling on DACA may be one of the last decisions the Supreme Court announces near the end of June, when the high court’s session ends.

In the meantime, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will continue to accept applications for renewal of 2-year deportation protections and work permits after lower courts issued preliminary injunctions blocking the Trump administration from ending the program.

What is at stake?

There were approximately 649,070 active DACA recipients as of Dec. 21, 2019, according to the most recent USCIS data.

That is down from the more than 825,000 people who have been approved for DACA since the program started in 2012.

The number has declined because some undocumented immigrants who were approved for DACA have been able to legalize their status, others decided not to renew and others became ineligible, said Veronica Garcia, a special projects attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, an advocacy group.

]]>Federal immigration agency to furlough employees unless Congress provides fundinghttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/federal-immigration-agency-to-furlough-employees-unless-congress-provides-funding/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=federal-immigration-agency-to-furlough-employees-unless-congress-provides-funding
Thu, 28 May 2020 13:04:19 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38403(CNN)- US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency responsible for visa and asylum processing, is expected to furlough part of its workforce this summer if Congress doesn’t provide emergency funding to sustain operations during the coronavirus pandemic. “Unfortunately, as of now, without congressional intervention, the agency will need to administratively furlough a portion of our employees on approximately July 20,” USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow wrote in a letter sent to the workforce on Tuesday. Earlier this month, the agency — which has 19,000 government employees and contractors working at more than 200 offices — requested $1.2…

]]>(CNN)- US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency responsible for visa and asylum processing, is expected to furlough part of its workforce this summer if Congress doesn’t provide emergency funding to sustain operations during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unfortunately, as of now, without congressional intervention, the agency will need to administratively furlough a portion of our employees on approximately July 20,” USCIS Deputy Director for Policy Joseph Edlow wrote in a letter sent to the workforce on Tuesday.

Earlier this month, the agency — which has 19,000 government employees and contractors working at more than 200 offices — requested $1.2 billion from Congress due to its budget shortfall.

Since then, the agency, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, has been working with members of Congress and their staffs to educate Capitol Hill on the agency’s finances and operations.

Communications from the agency to Congress have grown more urgent as the threat of potential rolling furloughs could number in the thousands, according to one source familiar with the discussions.

The goal would be to attach the needed funds to the next coronavirus relief bill, which lawmakers plan to negotiate next. Still, with both parties far apart on any resolution, there is currently no clear pathway for lawmakers to fulfill the emergency request.

The immigration agency is primarily fee-funded and typically continues most operations during lapses in funding, such as last year’s government shutdown. However, during the pandemic the agency suspended its in-person services, including all interviews and naturalization ceremonies.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, USCIS has seen a dramatic decrease in revenue and is seeking a one-time emergency request for funding to ensure we can carry out our mission of administering our nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity, and protecting the American people,” said a USCIS spokesperson.

The agency proposed a 10% surcharge on USCIS application fees to reimburse taxpayers at a later time. USCIS previously estimated that application and petition receipts will drop by approximately 61% through the end of fiscal year 2020, exhausting funding this summer, according to the agency.

By Geneva Sands and Phil Mattingly for CNN POLITICS
Read Full Article HERE

]]>H-1B Statutes Are Carefully Crafted to Be Misleading to the Casual Readerhttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/home-john-miano-h-1b-statutes-are-carefully-crafted-to-be-misleading-to-the-casual-reader-h-1b-statutes-are-carefully-crafted-to-be-misleading-to-the-casual-reader/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=home-john-miano-h-1b-statutes-are-carefully-crafted-to-be-misleading-to-the-casual-reader-h-1b-statutes-are-carefully-crafted-to-be-misleading-to-the-casual-reader
Wed, 27 May 2020 11:51:30 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38399The H-1B statutes are lobbyist-written and carefully crafted to be misleading to the casual reader. The “prevailing wage” is one area where there has been great confusion; in particular H-1B wage levels. The H-1B wage or skill levels are entirely a bureaucratic creation that have no relation to the job market. The source of the H-1B Wage Levels is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES). The BLS puts out a wage survey every May. The OES survey gives by occupation and location the average salary, the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile wages. The 50th percentile…

]]>The H-1B statutes are lobbyist-written and carefully crafted to be misleading to the casual reader. The “prevailing wage” is one area where there has been great confusion; in particular H-1B wage levels. The H-1B wage or skill levels are entirely a bureaucratic creation that have no relation to the job market.

The source of the H-1B Wage Levels is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (OES). The BLS puts out a wage survey every May. The OES survey gives by occupation and location the average salary, the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentile wages. The 50th percentile (median) is what normal people call “the prevailing wage”. In fact, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) regulations required it (or the mean if the median is not available).

The State of Utah has had a contract for decades to manage foreign labor certification data. Until 2004 and apparently without any statutory authority, they had been taking the OES survey and then interpolating the data to create approximations of the 17th and 66th percentile wages and putting them out as a high and low prevailing wages.

Employers were routinely using the 17th percentile wage supplied by this website and claiming it was the “prevailing wage” in H-1B labor condition applications (LCAs) even though this did not meet the requirements under regulation for a prevailing wage.

However, the Department of Labor is required to approve all H-1B LCAs within 14 days as long as the form is filled out correctly, so employers can put down nearly anything as the prevailing wage and get it approved. The Utah system provided an extremely low wage that had the appearance of being government-approved even if it was not lawful.

In 2004 Congress enacted 8 U.S.C. § 1182(p):

4) Where the Secretary of Labor uses, or makes available to employers, a governmental survey to determine the prevailing wage, such survey shall provide at least 4 levels of wages commensurate with experience, education, and the level of supervision. Where an existing government survey has only 2 levels, 2 intermediate levels may be created by dividing by 3, the difference between the 2 levels offered, adding the quotient thus obtained to the first level and subtracting that quotient from the second level.

]]>Immigrants actually help Americans get better jobs, study findshttps://www.theimmigrationpost.com/immigrants-actually-help-americans-get-better-jobs-study-finds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=immigrants-actually-help-americans-get-better-jobs-study-finds
Wed, 27 May 2020 11:47:19 +0000https://www.theimmigrationpost.com/?p=38396President Trump signed an executive order in April that temporarily halted immigration amid the coronavirus pandemic. The president indicated that this move was to ensure that unemployed Americans would “be first in line” for jobs as they become available. His administration is expected to put a further hold on issuing new visas — the H-1B for highly-skilled foreigners and the H-2B for seasonal employment. At the same time, new research from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) found that H-1B visa holders don’t have a negative impact on U.S. workers. In fact, the presence of these immigrants in the…

]]>President Trump signed an executive order in April that temporarily halted immigration amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The president indicated that this move was to ensure that unemployed Americans would “be first in line” for jobs as they become available. His administration is expected to put a further hold on issuing new visas — the H-1B for highly-skilled foreigners and the H-2B for seasonal employment.

At the same time, new research from the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) found that H-1B visa holders don’t have a negative impact on U.S. workers. In fact, the presence of these immigrants in the U.S. is actually “associated with lower unemployment rates and faster earnings growth among college graduates, including recent college graduates.”

The study was based on data from 2005 to 2018 and looked at the impact of the number of approved H-1B petitions on unemployment rates and earnings growth rates in the respective occupations.

“If highly productive workers no longer can work in the United States, the U.S. economy as a whole is worse off,” the paper stated.“With the country facing a long and difficult struggle to emerge from the economic downturn, this is not the time to impose additional restrictions that would reduce the number of skilled, innovative workers in the United States.”

Visa holders ‘increase innovation, productivity, and profits’

So why is that immigration is such a boon to the American economy and workforce?

H-1B workers account for at most 2% of highly educated U.S. workers, according to the study.

And by having an H-1B program, employers sometimes expand or at least maintain the number of jobs open to American workers. Furthermore, although some indicate that foreigners take jobs away from Americans because they are cheaper to pay, “the bulk of the evidence indicates that H-1B visa holders earn more than comparable American workers, on average, even before considering the substantial additional costs involved in using the H-1B visa category.”